If you’re a first-time home–buyer, you’ve likely wondered what neighborhood would be the best bet. Often, these debates among Millennial Montrealers revolve around the Plateau vs. Sud-Ouest.
If you’re of a certain age, you might be more than a little reluctant to start your search outside the city’s core. You may be thinking the suburbs aren’t right for you.
North East Mortgages President Terry Kilakos wants you to give the ‘burbs a chance though, especially once you start looking at where your life is heading not just in the next year, but further down the road.
“I think that for millennials and especially young professionals, what they need to do is to look a little bit further ahead than where they just currently are,” Kilakos said. “And they need to say, ‘What, are my future plans? Do I want a family?’ And if the answer is yes, there are a lot of suburbs that have a lot to offer.”
Kilakos said there are plenty of places to buy on the West Island or South Shore, to name two of many such areas in the greater Montreal area, where there’s more to offer than you might think.
“You can get out of the city, have all the same resources have all the same kind of fun and excitement as if you are actually in the city, and then come into the city whenever you need to,” he said.
Not only will you find you’re not that far from the action, but there are financial benefits, too.
“You’ll be able to buy a home at a more reasonable price,” Kilakos said. “And, and a lot of cases, you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck, you’ll get more real estate for a lot lower price.”
It’s about evaluating your goals, and where you want to be in your life in the coming years.
“If somebody tells me, ‘I’m a single guy, I want to live downtown. I’m not planning on getting married or having children in the next, you know, five to 10 years. And truth be told, even if I do, I’m going to end up keeping this place and renting it out.’ Okay, that’s a different conversation I’m having with the person,” Kilakos said. Then at that point, I’ll say, okay, you know what, maybe buying downtown makes sense for you.”
“But if they say to me, ‘I’m getting married next year, and my girlfriend is pregnant,’ it doesn’t make sense for them to go and buy a 600 square foot apartment,” he said.
Like with any major investment, it’s about having an honest evaluation of your goals. After you have that conversation with yourself, you might find the suburbs don’t sound so bad after all.
Photo: Tom Rumble / Unsplash